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It seems I'm the only person so far willing to admit that I bought the series by subscription, starting in 1970. I remember reading them cover to cover when they each book came, and they inspired a lot of alternatives to newlywed hamburger helper. You can tell our favorite recipes by the nastiness of the pages.

It seems I'm the only person so far willing to admit that I bought the series by subscription, starting in 1970. I remember reading them cover to cover when they each book came, and they inspired a lot of alternatives to newlywed hamburger helper. You can tell our favorite recipes by the nastiness of the pages.

I'll admit it. I did. But sadly, I've lost many of them through many relocations through the years.

I have always wanted to do an inventory of the ones I have left, and fill in the others.

Also, I remember too, like you, being so excited when each new one came.

When a friend discovered she was going to be moving to Germany, I gave her the German one, thinking I could replace it. But I never did.

This thread has inspired me to take whatever steps necessary to search out the volumes I need to complete the set.

I, too, got the set when originally published. The books are a little "shopworn" from being moved so many times and put into storage for periods up to two years. I don't have room for the beautiful books at present, but keep the spirals at hand. I think I have the Good Cook series, too, but have never used them much.

I notice on the Janet Jarvits site that Vincent Price's "Treasury" is sold for as much as $100 and $200. What a book that one is.

I notice on the Janet Jarvits site that Vincent Price's "Treasury" is sold for as much as $100 and $200. What a book that one is.

Sorry to hijack the thread slightly, but what can people say about that one? I know he and his wife were well known for their love of food, it's not just a novelty thing. And a local bookstore has two copies -- $70 and $90. Worth it?

I notice on the Janet Jarvits site that Vincent Price's "Treasury" is sold for as much as $100 and $200. What a book that one is.

Sorry to hijack the thread slightly, but what can people say about that one? I know he and his wife were well known for their love of food, it's not just a novelty thing. And a local bookstore has two copies -- $70 and $90. Worth it?

Wow, that much? My mother has that book and it's wonderful. I just asked her for it recently.

The Prices' book is very collectible and many people still cook from it. It's important to know that there were several editions and the original put out by Ampersand in 1965 is worth the most, especially if it's signed. The editions put out in later years by Bernard Geis Associates, G.P. Putman and Grosset and Dunlap go for as little as $35. There were even some bootlegged reprints made in China of obviously lower value. It should be in everyone's collection.

I love my copy of the Vincent Price. It was a gift from an elderly gentleman, given with the agreement that I'd treasure it and never sell it. The recipe collection is good, but my favorite part are the menus. Price included menus from all his favorite restaurants (some of them with prices), making it an amazing time capsule of food around the world, circa 1965.

I love looking at other people's cookbooks especially ones that you know have been used extensively

This is always a wonderful peek into the life of a Cooking Buddy, or a new aquaintance. I remember checking out the collection of a girlfriend from France. I was so madly jealous. Hundreds of cookbooks, all in French, many of them her mother's or grandmother's. These books had been put to good use for a long, long time. I still treasure the Francoise Bernard "Recettes Faciles" she gave this tyro cook for a wedding present. On the back page she wrote (in that spidery French handwriting)the conversions from metric to English measures. I wonder where Eda is now.

Apologies if I've mentioned this before, and more apologies for enabling, but one service they now offer is a daily email listing all used books received and added that day. Just used titles, not new. And you sign up by category and cookbooks is an option. So first dibs at everything. Note also that the daily list is, on average, about 120 titles.

And no I don't work for them. Just a big fan of how easy they make collecting.

One other caveat for folks getting inspired to start picking up the books. It's very very frustrating to be reading through the hardcovers and hit a great sounding recipe description or photo and discover it's only in the spiral section. Not to say you should pass up hardcovers when no corresponding spirals are immediately available, but it is a downside to the format.

This thread has inspired me to broaden my collection of these great books. So far I've gotten about 10 Good Cooks books in the last few days on eBay for a song! I'm looking at some of the Foods of the World series too, as I never saw those before. I won the Scandinavian set today for $3.00!

This will be fun and can be a new project/hobby to keep me off the streets and out of trouble.

After reading this thread, I saw some at a garage sale today and bought the lot for $40. They hardly look used. They include 14 large books, and 14 spiral bound books. I have Germany, Provincial France, Chinese, British Isles, American, Middle Eastern, Scandinavia, Spain and Portugal, Vienna's Empire, Wines and Spirits, Latin American, Japan, India, and Italy. Which am I missing? I'm excited to look through these.

I did a quick count of our bookshelf and came up with 29(this may include a couple of dupes). Others include 5 or 6 regional American, Pacific & Southeast Asia, Classic French, Russia, Caribbean.
Enjoy

I remember that I got them, by subscription, once a month, in a slipcase with the recipe book for .............$6.95 each................This was in '70, '71. They are still among my most used for cooking and most read for sheer enjoyment.

An inrelevant point: the Foods of the World series remained in print long after it originally came out, and some of the later printings, while not exactly new editions, contain slight updates on people and places. Mostly they're about people who died in the interim, like Euell Gibbons (Eastern Heartland) and that daring Alaskan pilot (Great West).

Hello everyone! I did find the complete 57 book set of the Time-Life Foods of the World series on Ebay for $70. plus $30 shipping, which I consider one hell of a deal! I fell in love with them when I came across them 5 years ago at the local library and then subsequently got three (Germany, Japan, Provincial France) at a yard sale. My set is in very good shape, with minimal wear, and it includes the 27 hardcover, the companion spiral set, and three supplemental booklets that were a nice bonus but non-essential. I highly recommend folks search these out if you enjoy reading your cookbooks as well as cooking from them.

It seems I'm the only person so far willing to admit that I bought the series by subscription, starting in 1970. I remember reading them cover to cover when they each book came, and they inspired a lot of alternatives to newlywed hamburger helper. You can tell our favorite recipes by the nastiness of the pages.

Jump.

I am another one that got the series entirely by subscription, starting when I was about 19 years old. I have the entire series, which is now in storage.

The recipes do work. I learned to make Osso Buco from these books, risotto, and a ton of other wonderful recipes. These were my first introductions to anything other than southern cooking.

I also got a good part of the Good Cook series by subscription. I am still missing about 3 books from that series.

You really can't forget that description of Spanish food at the beginning of the Spain/Portugal volume, of sharing a tortilla, some wine and bread with a complete stranger whilst on a train ride. Or how true Spanish gazpacho is made (in a clay bowl, with bread, tomatoes, peppers, onion, wine and EVOO, set out to cook in a sunlit window). Or the glories of English (yes, you read that right, English cuisine, especially in spring and summer), in the volume on the UK.

Guess that's one of my next projects, to add the books to my collection.

You really can't forget that description of Spanish food at the beginning of the Spain/Portugal volume, of sharing a tortilla, some wine and bread with a complete stranger whilst on a train ride.

Wasn't there a description of a soup, in the Spain and Portugal volume, in the same section that you mention, which had a crustacean in the middle which was set to spinning 'round in the bowl? Or is that in another volume. For some reason this sticks with me. In spite of the description, it sounded so good. I wanted some of that!

I can't check the volumes now, cause they are all in storage.

Of the recipes, I started cooking from the Provincial France volume. I still think the chocolate mousse recipe in that volume is the best one I have ever had.

Well, since we're talking about it, did anyone here happen to grab the full set they had for $25 (YES $25!!) at the James Beard House cookbook sale? I had to take a train back to Brooklyn and didn't feel like lugging them, and since I already had 6 at home I just grabbed 10 more of the "loosies" for a dollar each to add to my collection. Great books all, and only slightly outmoded in certain areas. Get 'em when you can find 'em and eBay the rest.